Billing Schedules can be used to take regular direct debit payments from a credit card that is saved on file for a patient. 



On this page: 

  • Important Information
  • Create a Billing Schedule 
  • Send the Direct Debit Agreement
  • Take upfront payment or hide invoice
  • View Past Invoices
  • Example of Direct Debit Agreement 
  • Invalid Agreements 
  • Email Notifications

See this article to Cancel a Billing Schedule

See this article for how to view Billing Schedules from the Patient Portal



Important Information

  1. You will first need to ensure you have Square or Stripe connected from Business Setup - > Integrations
  2. Please make sure you complete all steps carefully - step 9 is only optional if you already have the card details sav
  3. Schedules will be inactive when created from an invoice or a program enrolment. They will be activated by one of the following conditions occurring.
    • the patient signs the direct debit agreement
    • the practitioner activates the enrolment manually if payment details are already on file.



Create a Billing Schedule


Step 1. Create the invoice for your patient for the amount that will be charged on a recurring basis. If you don't already have an inventory item created for the recurring payment amount, you will need to do this first - see this article. 

  • Only 1 item can be added to an invoice for a Billing Schedule, modify the unit price of the inventory item if necessary. If more than 1 item needs to be added, you can do this when modifying the Billing Schedule (in step 3) 
  • Discounts will not be transferred to the billing schedule, you will need to discount the item unit price if necessary. 


Step 2. Select Create Billing Schedule in the top action bar of the invoice, this will open the below screen. 


Step 3. Set the following details: 

  • frequency - daily, weekly, monthly 
  • interval - e.g. every 3 days, every 2 weeks (or fortnight), every 1 month, every 3 months, every 12 months. 
  • start date - when the billing cycle will start, this must be greater than tomorrow and the payment details MUST be saved before this date. 
  • cycles - how many times will this schedule repeat. Set it to 0 to recur with no end until it's cancelled. 
  • Practitioner (if appropriate) 
  • Add Items - extra items can be added under the Template section, as below, if required. They must be in the inventory first but the price is set in this screen. 


Step 4. To confirm when payments are scheduled, refer to the the Scheduled Payments section.  You can skip dates by selecting the delete button next to the scheduled payment and it will appear in the Excluded Dates section. These can be restored back to the Schedules Payments list. 


Please be aware that payments will not be taken if the payment details are not saved prior to the start date. See step 10 if you need to take payment prior to this.


Step 5. Click SAVE


SimpleClinic DOES NOT store your client credit card details.  These are stored securely on your payment gateway servers.


Step 6. If you have not taken payment card details, leave the Billing Schedule INACTIVE. If you have already taken payment card details, set the Billing Schedule as ACTIVE.


Step 7. Scroll to the bottom and add an email subject and email body, this will be sent to the client each time an invoice is due/paid, e.g. Dear {{client.first_name}}, Your next payment is due to be taken out today. Thank you. Regards, Your Name. 


Please note only the client first name and last name merge tags will work in the Scheduled Emails. 

{{client.first_name}} 

{{client.last_name}}


Step 8. Click SAVE.




Send the Direct Debit Agreement


Step 9. Optional: If you have not yet collected card details from the client

  • ensure the billing schedule is INACTIVE, otherwise the agreement cannot be signed. 
  • select the Send Schedule Link button bottom right of the screen (see screenshot above).  This opens an email window (see image below). This includes the link to the Direct Debit Agreement which is a form that the user can complete, in the clinic or online (please see the example direct debit agreement below). 
    • If they are with you in person, open the link on your computer and ask them to fill it in. 
    • If you are emailing this to the client, edit the email and send it to your client.
  • The client will need to enter payment details and consent to the schedule terms and conditions. 
  • The client will get confirmation of the completed agreemend (see below for more on email notifications). 
  • You will get a notification if this is turned on under Business Setup -> Notification Settings (see below for more on email notifications) 
  • Once the form is completed, you will be able to see the following: 
    • Go to the patient file -> select the Finances tab -> view the patient card details (if these are not present the billing schedule will not work).
    • Go to Billing Schedules -> view the patient's Billing Schedule ->it will be set to ACTIVE


Payments will not be taken if the payment details are not saved prior to the start date.



 


If you attempt to send the schedule link when the start date is less than 2 days in the future, you will see this message. 





Take upfront payment or hide invoice


Step 10. After completing the billing schedule set up, you can hide the original invoice that was used as a template to create the billing schedule. 

Unless you need to take an upfront payment at this time. If so, send this invoice to the patient to pay or use their saved payment details to record payment.



View Past Invoices


Step 11. You can view any past invoices in this section. For more details, see the Finances tab on the patient record. 





Example of Direct Debit Agreement 


Below is an example Direct Debit Greement process if the client was completing this themselves. 


Page 1: Review Agreement 



Page 2: Enter and Consent to Storing Card Details




Page 3: Finalise Agreement 




Page 4: Confirmation





Invalid Agreements 


  • The below screen means that the start date is not greater than tomorrow:




  • Billing Schedule Agreements can only be used once. 
  • This screen will also show if the Billing Schedule is set to active, even if the patient has no payment details saved. See step 9 to collect payment details.






Email Notifications


Patient Notifications


The patient will get the below email notification once the schedule is signed: 





The patient will get the schedule emails on the day the payment is due. If you do not set content in this section it will not be sent. This email may arrive prior to the payment coming out or after the payment has come out, depending on message sending and bank debit timings, so enter text accordingly. 


Please note that because the emails may arrive prior to the payment being taken, this could result in a failed payment if the client has insufficient funds. If this happens, you will have an outstanding invoice on your dashboard which can be sent to the patient to pay. 




Clinic Notifications


The clinic admin and the practitioner linked to the billing schedule (if any) will receive the below email notification when the schedule is signed.